The owners of the farm-to-table restaurant, Apt Cape Code had reached their limit after they were invaded by rude and nasty patrons who verbally abused and made their staff cry.

To make up for such a stressful and frustrating event, they gave their staff a break and closed the restaurant for a “day of kindness.”

Brandi and Regina Felt Castellano, the co-owners of the restaurant shared that many of their patrons have demonstrated unacceptable behaviors toward their staff.

They all tried to deal with the customers nicely but what made them lose their patience was when a man lashed out at a staff. The customer got angry when the staff told him that they could not take his takeout order as they had not opened yet.

They made a surprise announcement the next day: the farm-to-table restaurant would be closed until 5 p.m. to give their workers a break from interacting with clients.

In a Facebook post, they explained that an “astronomical influx” of clients had been yelling and screaming at their personnel, with some threatening to sue them.

Such actions caused their team members to cry, so the proprietors decided to take a break from the harsh, aggressive customers.

“This is an unacceptable way to treat any human,” they said on Facebook. “We’ll be open for breakfast again tomorrow.” Please keep in mind that many of my employees are young, and this is their first summer job to help pay for college.

We’ve had to make changes owing to increased company volume, kitchen capacity, product availability, and staffing availability; we’re not aiming to ruin anyone’s vacation or day off.”

Regina Felt Castellano, one of the owners said that a lot of businesses did not survive the pandemic and it was disheartening to see people become so aggressive.

She said that it was not the case before the pandemic and their customers used to treat the staff nicely. However, since the restaurants have been fully opened, many of the customers have become rude and abusive to their 24 employees.

“Patrons have crossed the line from being just rude or upset to verbally abusive,” says Brandi Castellano.

“They said to one of our employees, ‘I hope you get hit by a car when you leave work today.'” “It just makes them not want to come to work because they see the young ones crying or go home and cry,” she added.

The farm-to-table restaurant’s owners and workers were all heartbroken and disappointed by the clients’ recent actions.

“It’s like abuse,” Regina commented. “It’s things that people say that would be bleeped if they were broadcast on television.” People are frequently disrespectful to restaurant employees, but this is much above anything I’ve witnessed in my 20 years.”

Like other restaurants, Apt Cape Cod was also short on staff and supplies, which led to limited menu items and longer waiting times.

These small shortcomings made the customers angry and behave negatively towards the servers who were all kind and patient.

“These are people who are showing up every day for work and they are human beings and that’s what everyone needs just to be nice to everybody, everywhere,” Brandi said, talking about their employees.

Many people shared their sympathies and dismay on social media. Some restaurant patrons also showed their support by leaving gift vouchers for the employees. A parasail and Jet Ski shop promised to provide a fun day for its staff.

These thoughtful actions made the owners and staff feel better as they attempted to focus on clients who treat them well and value everyone’s efforts.